From the Bay Garden to the Thanksgiving Table

We didn’t grow our own celery, olives or turkey

By Dr. Francis Gouin

This year, our garden will be providing butternut squash, onions, garlic, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, carrots and red and green peppers for the Thanksgiving table. We might include sauerkraut that was made and canned in 2010. If needed we could also include Siberian kale and collard greens, but I prefer roasted Brussels sprouts.
Wife Clara always buys the largest turkey that will fit in the oven. As in previous years, I will first brine the turkey starting on Wednesday morning. Upon removal from the brine, I rub the turkey under the skin with Bell Turkey Seasoning and on top of the skin with salt, garlic powder and freshly ground pepper. I stuff the cavity with a modified Arnold corn bread stuffing made from the broth of boiling the neck, giblets, liver and heart, coarsely chopped onions and chopped celery leaves. I add the cooked giblets, liver, heart and boned neck meat to the stuffing. To assure a moist, tender turkey, I cook the turkey in an oven at 325 degrees.
The Brussels sprouts I slash across the top, baste with olive oil and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. The freshly dug carrots I cook in the microwave and top with butter. We make gravy using only the broth that accumulates in the roasting bag thickened with Wonder flour. We serve both mashed Irish potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Clara always has to make stuffed celery. Because she is lactose-intolerant, she uses Tofuti in place of cream cheese with pieces of green and black olives and walnuts. For me, some of the celery sticks are stuffed with crunchy Jiff peanut butter. For dessert, we will most likely make squash pie using our own homegrown butternut squash, baked and the flesh scooped from the shell, mashed and blended with eggs and lactose-free milk. The blend will be sweetened with maple syrup made by my brother in New Hampshire.
As always, we will be sharing our Thanksgiving with friends and family starting at around 5pm.